Marlo Thomas Is More Than Just 'That Girl.' On Her Birthday, 10 Things You Must Know About This Fabulous Woman

Happy Birthday, Marlo. Join us in wishing That Girl (who is Our Girl) a great today. Here are some facts you may not know about this wOw-er… 

1. Marlo Thomas’s favorite quote comes from her father, actor Danny Thomas, who once told her, "I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run they wear blinders to keep their eyes focused straight ahead with no distractions, no other horses. They hear the crowd but they don’t listen. They just run their own race. That’s what you have to do. Don’t listen to anyone comparing you to me or to anyone else. You just run your own race."

2. Memphis’s St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital remains one of the most famous children’s hospitals in the United States, and you may not know this, but Marlo Thomas’s actor father actually founded it, and Marlo continues his good work. She’ll tell you all about it in a very special post coming Monday.

3. After their 1980 nuptials, tabloids were constantly claiming that Marlo Thomas and her husband, Phil Donahue, were careening toward divorce. Well, they didn’t – the couple has been happily married for 28 years.

4. Sure, we all remember Marlo from the American television show "That Girl," but did you know she got her big break when director Mike Nichols cast her in a London production of Neil Simon’s "Barefoot in the Park"?

5. Marlo won four Emmy awards, two of which were from the television specials spawned from her classic children’s album, "Free to Be … You and Me," for which she tapped scores of stars to help spread the message of individuality.

6. Marlo spent 12 years at an all-girls Catholic School, and found co-ed college to be riddled with temptations, which explains her abysmal 1.4 GPA during her first semester at USC. Her father was less than pleased, and threatened to send her to Marymount College, another ladies-only institution, if she didn’t improve her marks. The warning worked – Marlo ended that year with a 3.8 GPA, and was even honored as the most-improved student.

7. Speaking of education, Marlo originally studied education at USC, but couldn’t resist the acting bug and spent her post-graduate years making the audition rounds, which brings us to our next Thomas-related factoid …

8. Marlo’s first television special, 1973’s "Acts of Love and Other Comedies," was at the time ABC’s highest-rated comedy special ever.

9. Marlo knows what it takes to be a good actress – knowing how to be a child. "For actors, you have to get back to the way you were as a child, which is to be open about it all; to let it out; to cry and laugh and be surprised and be open and really listen and do all the things that, as we grow up, we don’t do."

10. Marlo isn’t afraid of getting older. As she told wOw pals Mary Wells, Lily Tomlin and Joan Juliet Buck, "When I was younger I didn’t think older women were that pretty. Now I think they’re gorgeous. You start to say, ‘Now wait a minute … you know, this woman is beautiful. And I look good.’" Yes, Marlo, you do!